Paved structure



H. L 'r-IAULY.I PAvr-:D STRUCTURE Jan. 9, k1923.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Fl LED DEC.

INVENTOR.

HLFAD/ y,

- BY v ATTORNEYS Jan; 9, 1923.

H. L. HADLY. PAvl-:D STRUCTURE. Fl LED DEC; 8 i920 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 i.L, HA 0L X,

A INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYJ' Patentes Jae. a, reas.

hl il fi @d il,

tiene PAVED STRUCTURE.'

Application led December 8, 1920. Serial No. 429,192.

' T 0 all whom it may concern kBe it `known that I, Hanni i. Hann-Y, acitizen of the UnitedStates, residing;` at C hicago, in the county ofCock and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Paved Structures; rand I do hereby declare thefollowing' to be a full, clear, and exact description of the iii--vention, such'as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

rIhis invention relates to roadways and other paved structures,particularly rto socalled highways adapted for miscellaneous vehicularand like traffic.

An object of the invention is to' produce a hard, smooth surfacedroadbed, especially in districts wherey the soil is of clay, and it isaparticular object to produce a road having a surface of fired, baked ordehydrated clay composed of adjacent brick-like prisms, preferablyrectangular in horizontal section, having),` their exposed upperfacesiiush with respect to each other and presenting, as

a whole,'a smooth and even surface for traffic, said prisms beingintegrally united at their bases so that individual prisms are bakedclay. Thev invention further consistsl in the method of constructingsaid roadbed as more not likely to be pushed downward or dis-- placedwith respect to each other, the whole constituting an even, brick-likeroad surface 'susceptible of compensating for wide ran O'es oftemperature without cracking, and siifficiently yielding, owing to thefoundation ofuniired or hydrated clay. y

The invention comprises in general a paved structure having its vupperayer shaped into an'appropriate road surface and consisting of prismsseparated from each other by narrow and relatively deep crevices,

said upper layer consisting of hard, fired clay resting;r on a softerfoundation of unparticularly set forth hereinafter and defined in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 represents, somewhat diagrammatically, a cross section of aroadway made. in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 represents a plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a cross section illustrating, conventionally, cement tracksadapted for use on roads intended for heavy trucking;

Figure 4t is a plan view of the modifica tions shown in Figure 3.

Similar reference characters designate similarparts throughouttheseveral views.

My invent-ion is particularly adapted to be used in regions where thenatural soil'is of brick clay, although it is obvious that the inventionis not limited to such regions since clay fillings may be treatedin asimilar manner to produce similar results. In Figure'l` of the drawings,the numeral liindicates a sub layerr or foundation mass of hydrated orunired claysuch as may be found occurring naturally as a surface soilincertain regions, and numeral 2 indicates a surface layer of fired ordehydrated clay. LThe surface layerr2 is composed of a large number ofadjacent prismatic bodies separated from each other laterally by -narrowspaces 3. The spaces 3 may be tapered in verticalsec-r tion. Y At theirlower extremities the prismatic blocks are integrally united each blockY being an integral projection from a subtance from an exposed surfaceso that be tween the hard completelyfired exterior and the natural clayfoundation is interposed a layer of'clay-fired to different deg-rees-.It is preferred that the'form of the said pris-v matic bodies shall bethat of an ordinary brick with the longer dimension lying trans verse oftheroadway. The roadway 4may it is preferably rounded according toapproved practice, as illustrated. r y

In Figures 3 and 4 I have illustrated a roadbed `of the samegener'altype as that shown in Figures 1 and' 2 and have adapted "it to trafficof heavy trucks by; providing tracks of cement or concrete properlyspaced to provide Vfor traffic in oppositeA directions. In Figures 3 and4 the numerals a-Lt designate a pair of cement or concretetracksprovided for traflic in one direction and numerals l-la designatesimilar tracks adapted for traffic inr the opposite direction. Thesetracks are formed from solid bodies of concrete, cast in grooves 5 5,a-a provided within the upper layer 2 of the roa'dv bed. The saidgrooves mayl be Y enlarged slightly at their bottoms so that when theconcrete is cast lin them it will be inter,- locked or dovetailed withthe hard clay layers It Will be obvious that said bodies of concrete maybe reinforced with steel bars, if desired, in the ordinary manner ofreinforcing concrete. y f Y In building a roadbed according tothisinvention the surface clay is moistened'ivith a sufficient quantitylfofWater, smoothed and rounded, as by molding, to the appropriateconligurationv` in situ, and then the blocks oi prisms are carved in thesurface layer by meansof a sharp instrument pressed into theplasticlayer in any suitable manner. rlhe said blocks may be firstmarked out in squares or oblongs orother shapes desired and theiitheclay displaced or removed at the marked linesto the depth of four toeight inches, more or less, in order to separate the prismatic bodiesfrom each other, leaving them, of course, united firmly to the sub'fsoilor layer l.

Iny case it is desired to make a roadbed like that shown in Figures Sand 4f, the grooves and 3L-5 Awill be appropriately excavated, molded or`otherwise shaped by suitabletools.

vAfter the roadbed has been suitably` shaped' andthe blocks constitutingits surface properly `separated from eachother heat -ivill be applied/tothe surface in situ at such temperatures and during such periods as maybe necessary to iire the clay and turn it into a brick-like surface.`Inthis firing operation the interstices y'between the blocks permit ftheheat to penetrate and fire the layer 2 effectively. The firing processwill obviously be more complete at the surface and adjacent the Walls'ofthe cracks or crevicesthan at the'base or roots ofsaid blocks Where'theyare integrally united Withl the sub soil l of unbaked clay.

f vln'firing heat may be applied in 'any suitable manner. Icontemplate'building hres upon the surface so as to `properlv lire thesurface layer as desired, but it is obvious that travelling furnaceshaving suitable provisions for directing a hot blast down upon'th'esurface may be'used'if found more convenient. n producing the roadsurface shoi'vn in'Figures 3 and 4, a firing operation similartof'thatset forth lWith respect to the forms shown in -Figures 1 `and2Wi'll be carried'cut after the ro'adb'ed hasbeen properly formed 'andthe grooves y5-'5 and 5aa made. After firing the surface a' suitableconcretewill be cast'into the grooves formed l therein either With orWithout rst r placing vsuitable metal reinforcin means Within said -ggrooves. rIhe surfaces of said tracks 4e thus formed Will be smooth andshaped to a suitable configuration vvhich may be a continuation of thesurface of the layer 2, as indicated in Figure 3, or otherwise.

This construction, it Will be obvious, is economical in those regionsWhere the soil is ofclay or Where a suitable clay is abundant. By reasonof the hard fired surface klayer formed of blocks Which are independ`ent of each other at their upper portions, but are integrally united bya partially fired layer, a smooth, hard surfaced roadbed will be formedthat isinotlikelyto be cracked by frost or by extremes of temperature,and issufiiciently yielding for its purposes. i

If found desirable, after burning the i yfoundation of -unfired cla-y,and a layer of partially lired clay unitingthe surfacelayer with i thefoundation, said surface layer comprising adjacent prismaticbodiesseparated from eachr other laterally by narrowspaces and having theirtop surfaces substantially flush With each other.

2. The process of =makifng `roadways or other paved structures Whichconsists in molding in situ" Ia suitable surface "on a fouiidatzion ofsuitably inoistened clay7 forming said surface layer into a`multiplicity of adj acentprisniatic bodies separated by intermediatespaces but united VWith the foundation massof clayyandfiring saidsurface layer.y

3. The process of making roadways -or 'other paved' structures in situ=Which consists in molding a` suitable-surfaceon a fou-ndation ofsuitably moistened `clay and firing the surface of said molded clay.

ln testimony rwhereof I afhxm'y signature.

t HARLY L, HA-DLY.

